Categories

Are there really secrets for weight loss?

If you were to pick up pretty much any womanâ€™s magazine from the grocery store check out line youâ€™d have to say yeah sure there are weight lossÂ secrets. So many secrets in fact that youâ€™ll find a new one printed each week.

The latest â€śsecretâ€ť I stumbled on this past week while buying groceries was that you could lose 20, 30, 40 or more pounds without dieting or exercise if you just took this little pill of an herb that was recently discovered in the Amazon jungle.

Give me a break! Of course there was also this real small print on the bottom thatÂ read â€śresults not typicalâ€ť and that youâ€™ll see better results WITH dieting and exercise.

They contradicted their own headline and alleged â€śsecretâ€ť just to get your attention! I guess they figure a percentage of people will order without taking a closer look, and I’m sure many do.

This is real sad. The reality is with the information age upon us this is just a normalÂ part of our modern day culture, like it or not. Itâ€™s getting harder and harder to find the truth in the mainstream media and I think everyone knows it.

Of course the majority of stuff you read about rapid weight loss are NOT secrets but rather a bunch of B.S. Unfortunately, people get numb after a while to ANY information about what works for weight loss because of all the false promises.

The funny thing about secrets….

Let me ask you something. If there were secrets that could help you lose weight and I told you they were hidden somewhere in your back yard, would you work to find them?

Of course you would.Â So why wonâ€™t you spend your day tomorrow rummaging through the back yard like a littleÂ kid on an Easter egg hunt? Because you donâ€™t believe youâ€™d find anything. Assuming otherwise would just be silly.

But letâ€™s just be careful that our healthy skepticism doesnâ€™t limit us in finding that which we deserve. Weâ€™re skeptical of secrets, as we believe our sensibilities are on track when they steer us away from buying â€śthe secrets of making millions in real estateâ€ť or â€śthe secrets of retiring rich.â€ť

I started thinking about this subject and realized, YES there are tons of legitimate weight loss secrets which COULD be common knowledge if it wasnâ€™t for the constantÂ static of lies and misinformation crowding out the truth.

Something being a secret depends on who you ask…

Ask any female fitness, figure, or bodybuilding competitor and sheâ€™ll tell you how to deplete glycogen in the weeks before a show and how to reload withÂ carbs just before the show.

She tell you how she plans on manipulating carbs toÂ fuel her muscle andÂ feed off of fat stores at the same time…

Sheâ€™ll tell you how important it is to eliminate refined carbohydrates and sugars while getting in plenty of omega 3 fats and lean proteins…

She knowsÂ not to trust theÂ scaleÂ but instead reliesÂ on her bodyÂ % percentageÂ for moreÂ accurate feedback onÂ progress…

She knows she needs to train intensely and get adequate sleep and recovery.Â And at the highest levels sheâ€™s learned to manipulate not only her body fat, but water weight as well.

Backstage at any bodybuilding, fitness, or figure competition, these arenâ€™t secrets.

Everyone in the rooms knows these strategies…

It’s not your fault if you’ve been left “guessing?”

Now imagine for a second youâ€™re a fly on the wall at a local Weight Watchers meeting. Iâ€™m not bashing Weight Watchers, just follow me for a minute.

Youâ€™ll likely hear a woman describe her avoidance of bread at lunch so she could enjoy the brownie after dinner…

Youâ€™ll hear another woman describe her â€śwalking programâ€ť as synonymous with her â€śexercise programâ€ť with zero concern for resistance training to actually build muscle…

Youâ€™ll see women putting their sole reliance on the scale and hear a mix of fleeting elation and utter frustration depending on what it readÂ this week at the weigh-in…

The message that’s promoted in society is to simply “eat right and exercise.”

The sad reality is, most women believe they are doing just that!

They donâ€™t understand the strategiesÂ thatÂ are commonÂ knowledge toÂ bodybuilders and fitness competitors. So while these strategies need not be hidden, they are in fact secrets.

Now Iâ€™m not suggesting everyone should train like bodybuilders, quite the contrary. But what I am suggesting is that most people are sheltered from information that when applied on a more moderate level can help them see the results they desire.

The â€śsecretsâ€ť need not be secrets . . . but because of limited access and imposed false beliefs, secrets they remain.

Here are the facts…

Women wonâ€™t get big, bulky muscles justÂ from lifting weights.

Walking (although exercise) does not replace resistance training.

Losing weight is NOTÂ just a matter of exercising more and eating less.

If you skip meals and you’reÂ rarely hungry it means your metabolism has slowed down and you’re more likely to store fat than burn it.

Eating 5-6 small meals a day is better for weight loss than 2-3 larger meals.

Sugar is the enemy! You cannot lose weight effectively unless you remove it from your diet, period.

I could go on and on here. The strategies for what works all boil down to following proven methods that have been used time and time again by people who have successfully altered their body composition.

Taking these methods andÂ combining withÂ a personalized plan that incorporates your metabolism, body-makeup and unique needs is the key.

It all starts with having the right information then getting help with the consistency and structure thatâ€™s required for lifestyle changes.

Regardless of where you do your exerciseÂ I just want to help see you be successful with a fitness and weight loss program. There need not be anyÂ ”secrets”Â on what reallyÂ works.

Shane Doll is a certified Charleston personal trainer,Â fat loss expert, speaker, and founderÂ of Shaping Concepts personal training studios. You can receive a free trial of his Charleston personalÂ training program with noÂ obligation and experience the Shaping ConceptsÂ difference for yourself.

Warning: include_once(APP_ROOT/signup_form.php) [function.include-once]: failed to open stream: No such file or directory in /home/shaping/public_html/blog/wp-content/themes/default/single.php on line 99